Chapter 18 Solving the Case: The Kid's Grown Up, He Has Little Secrets Now.
The moment the words left his mouth, everyone was stunned.
Rei Furuya didn't forget to observe the expressions of the three suspects.
Kitagawa Ryusei explained to everyone in a way that made them believe him: "The victim's wounds are different from the smooth cuts made by a metal knife. His hands were stained with his own blood but there were no defensive cuts—this suggests that the murder weapon probably didn't have a blade pattern, and it's highly likely that it was a homemade, irregularly shaped weapon. In addition, the victim's wounds didn't show any subcutaneous bleeding, which may be due to hypothermia."
Although it is difficult to find more detailed evidence with the naked eye, it is not difficult to prove Kitagawa Ryusei's point of view after the body is sent back to the Metropolitan Police Department.
"As for the murder weapon being an ice blade, that's just my personal guess. I think there should be a place in the haunted house where ice and dry ice are stored," Kitagawa Ryusei said in a declarative tone.
"Yes! It's backstage," finally, someone in charge of the haunted house could chime in, and he quickly chimed in, "I can take you there!"
Seeing this, Inspector Megure sent two officers to follow.
After the on-site investigation was completed, the eyewitnesses and suspects were taken to a more spacious backstage work area.
The suspects began scrambling to clear themselves of suspicion.
"Reiko and I are deeply in love and have a very good relationship. There is absolutely no need to kill her!" Asano Eima was clearly furious about being treated as a suspect, and his anger overwhelmed his grief several times.
In contrast, Mr. Matsuo was much calmer: "I came to the labyrinth as a tourist because I was part of the initial construction of this labyrinth, so I wanted to witness the results of my work firsthand... I did arrange to meet with Reiko after handing over my work, but it was only to return some items. You can check my text messages."
When the person in charge of the haunted house saw Koyanagi Rimi with red and swollen eyes from crying, he suddenly remembered something, slammed his right fist into his left palm, and said, "By the way, Koyanagi, did you and Kido have a fight when you were getting your makeup done today?"
Everyone turned their gazes, their scrutinizing eyes landing on the woman beside Natalie.
Suddenly becoming the center of attention, Koyanagi Tomi paused, glancing instinctively at Asano Eimaru: "I... I did talk to Reiko about something private, and she was indeed a little unhappy at the time."
She quickly composed herself: "But I have no reason to kill...my own friend!"
Clearly, she was trying her best to avoid that word.
After carefully listening to the three people's statements, Inspector Megure turned to the police academy students and asked, "What are your thoughts?"
From any perspective, these people were exceptionally outstanding. In less than half an hour, the police officer had developed a strong liking for his future colleagues.
Megure Juzo valued their opinions highly.
In the course on analyzing characters' motivations, apart from Rei Furuya, Kenji Hagiwara scored the highest. Both of them were eager to help and were very proactive.
Noticing his clothes being tugged, Rei Furuya turned his head and saw that Ruki Kitagawa seemed to have something to say.
He bent down and listened intently.
The sound, audible to only two people, reached their ears, causing a ticklish sensation.
Then he heard a name.
"I'll go check the security cameras to see if they've captured anything." After saying that, Kitagawa Ryusei was about to leave, and Furuya Rei couldn't stop him.
They completely disregarded how much of a commotion their words might cause.
At least explain yourself clearly!
Furuya seemed really eager to pull the person back and explain, but the person had already drifted far away.
Recalling what he had just heard, he turned his gaze back to the three suspects.
Although it's unclear how Ryusei arrived at the answer, it doesn't prevent Furuya Rei from focusing more intently on the current situation.
My thoughts suddenly became clear.
...So this is what it feels like to do proof problems?
However, this method might only be usable by Kitagawa Ryusei, Furuya Rei thought to himself, without ignoring the other two suspects.
As the top student in his grade, he naturally had his own methods for solving cases.
It's just as good.
...
The autopsy report and the results of the police inspection of the dry ice storage room were obtained simultaneously.
"Report to the Inspector: The autopsy results show that the victim's stab wound was angled upwards, the wound surface showed obvious frostbite-induced contraction, the severed blood vessels also showed signs of contracture, and the clothing was contaminated with gelatinous substance that delays the freezing process."
"Inspector Megure, we found the molds and gelatin used to make ice skates in the storage room."
One police officer speculated: "Ms. Koyanagi is now the prime suspect. Judging from the direction of the wound, the perpetrator may be shorter than the victim. Ms. Koyanagi had ample time to commit the crime and was familiar with the maze's structure. As for the motive, it is very likely that she had an argument with the victim."
As soon as she finished speaking, all the women gathered together, except for Natalie, took a big step back, distancing themselves from Rimi Koyanagi.
Koyanagi Toshimi's face suddenly turned red: "I didn't! The staff at the haunted house are very familiar with this place, and I stayed in the dressing room for the entire ten minutes when Reiko had her accident. Asano-kun can testify to that!"
She cast a pleading look at the man not far away.
Asano Eima confirmed, "I did knock on the dressing room door to ask Koyanagi if she needed a bottle when I went to the warehouse to look for unopened bottled water."
He still insisted on his guess: "The front and back doors of this secret room are not a dead end. Matsuo Akira could easily take advantage of the darkness to go around through the back corridor and attack Reiko!"
"You clearly have nothing to do with Li Zi anymore, so why are you still looking for her? If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have died!"
His vehement accusations echoed throughout the backstage area, and seeing him lose control of his emotions once again, Matsuda Jinpei, who had some free time, had no choice but to come over and comfort him.
His face darkened, and he didn't know how to start the conversation. He stood there with his elbows crossed, staring at the man, looking more like he was about to punch him: "Hey, quiet down."
It actually worked remarkably well. Facing the menacing Matsuda Jinpei, Asano Eima took a step back, mumbled something under his breath, and then fell silent.
Seeing that things had quieted down, Kenji Hagiwara then asked Toshimi Koyanagi, "May I ask what the specifics of your conversation with Ms. Reiko were today?"
He spoke very politely, but Koyanagi Rimi knew she couldn't refuse at that moment.
She glanced at Asano Eima again, her voice growing softer and softer: "...I was just advising Reiko not to act impulsively, not to accept Asano's advances so quickly just because she had a falling out with Matsuo-kun."
The other two suspects who were watching this scene turned their heads at the same time, and Asano Eima's eyes widened: "What did you say?!"
He was furious: "What right do you have to interfere in my relationship with Reiko?!"
"Because you're completely unreliable!" Koyanagi Rimi's tone hardened considerably when she said this, her voice rising. But she hesitated to continue, her voice trailing off: "Before, you secretly spread rumors about Reiko because she and Matsuo were together..."
She didn't say it explicitly, but most people at the scene understood.
Matsuo Akira frowned imperceptibly.
"...Just because Reiko doesn't know doesn't mean I didn't hear it." Koyanagi Rimi sobbed softly, remembering her friend's death.
Asano Eima looked grim, but couldn't lose her temper in front of so many people, so her expression twisted: "Is this the time to discuss this? Catching the murderer is the most important thing!"
After being provoked several times, Matsuo Akira could no longer be described as "good-tempered" if he continued to tolerate it. He hissed, "Enough, Asano! Can you stop acting like a bear and running wild everywhere!"
"It's better than you always putting on an act, you hypocrite!"
The police officers present looked left and right, watching them argue. Inspector Megure tried to stop them several times, but his voice was suppressed each time. His face grew darker and darker.
Just as he was about to lose his temper, a dark-skinned hand patted Inspector Megure on the shoulder.
Rei Furuya stepped out from behind him: "That's right, finding the culprit is the priority now, but I didn't expect Asano-kun to be so proactive."
He glanced around and fixed his gaze on the man: "Are you so eager to turn yourself in?"
...
The air froze instantly.
For a long time, no one spoke.
The situation took an unexpected turn, catching Inspector Megure completely off guard. He instantly forgot his anger and asked, "Did Furuya-kun find some evidence?"
Meanwhile, he received a notification from the police officers searching for the murder weapon, but they found no items such as ice skates in the secret room or backstage area.
This emboldened Asano Eima, who glared fiercely at the blond youth, his tone indignant: "Can you just slander someone without evidence? I'm going to sue you for defamation! When Reiko was in the control room operating the switch for the secret room, I had no time to commit the crime!"
Furuya Rei remained unmoved, presenting his arguments logically and persuasively: "Based on your testimony, the dark period in the locked room was exactly thirteen minutes. If it is only necessary to ensure that someone is in the control room when the lights are turned on and off, then this alibi is invalid."
"That's just your conjecture!" Asano Eima suddenly remembered that evidence was needed for identification, and said stubbornly.
After pondering for a moment, Inspector Megure said to Rei Furuya, "What he said isn't without merit. Or do you already know where the murder weapon is?"
Rei Furuya shook his head; he didn't know.
But Kitagawa Ryusei already had the answer.
The brown-haired youth stepped out from behind the group and waved his phone: "We've already notified our companions to go find the police. If I'm not mistaken, the ice skates were hidden in the dry ice smoke machine, right?"
The second half of the sentence was spoken while looking at Eimasa Asano.
The other person's face turned deathly pale instantly.
Taking in this scene, Morofushi Kagemitsu said, "Ice with gelatin added is difficult to melt in a short time. Compared to hiding it in other places, the dry ice bucket of the smoke machine is indeed more conspicuous."
His gaze darkened: "But correspondingly, with dry ice cooling the temperature, the ice skates are even less likely to melt."
Just as he finished speaking, the police officer who had gone out to look for the murder weapon and Date Wataru finally returned: "Inspector, we found the murder weapon! We extracted bloodstains from it and have sent it to the Metropolitan Police Department for comparison."
Asano Eima stared intently at the evidence in the police officer's hand, struggling to speak clearly and deliberately: "You can't prove that I did it. Those two guys clearly had a much stronger motive."
Rei Furuya nodded in agreement and offered even stronger evidence: "I think whether you wore gloves or took other precautions, you wouldn't have had time to change your clothes, right? Stabbing the victim at an upward angle, it's inevitable that the cuffs would be stained with melted ice blade liquid and the victim's blood. Would you mind checking them?"
Asano Eima instinctively covered her right sleeve.
To others, this action was tantamount to admitting guilt without being asked.
No further explanation is needed.
After turning off the lights in the locked room, Asano Eimaro used the backstage corridor and his familiarity with Kido Reiko's workplace to kill her with a pre-prepared murder weapon. He then returned to the control room through the corridor and turned the lights back on.
He even went around to the entrance of the haunted house and hid the ice skates in the furthest dry ice smoke machine.
But they were still discovered...
Inspector Megure had already taken out the handcuffs and was just waiting for the final result.
“…Impossible, you have no reason to doubt me.” He backed away and whispered, his gaze shifting from a forced fierceness to a blank look.
Police officers surrounded him, approaching him in a defensive formation, wary of any potential resistance.
“The more you say, the more mistakes you make; there are too many flaws,” Kitagawa Ryusei replied.
He walked up to Rei Furuya and stood beside him, his gaze unwavering as he faced the murderer before him: "Excuse me, Mr. Asano, who was 'obediently' staying in the control room, why did you go to the dressing room and bump into Ms. Koyanagi? Your wording is also quite interesting. Could you explain what you mean by 'there was no need' to kill Ms. Kido?"
Recalling the shadow they had seen in the maze, he spoke softly, his doubts surging from the bottom of his heart: "There are so many mirrors here, each one a pair of eyes. Are you really so sure you can evade all their gazes?"
Asano Eima suddenly opened her eyes wide in realization, and fell to the ground as she stepped back again.
The young man's face overlapped with someone else's, and he seemed to have returned to a short time ago, seeing those beautiful eyes filled with disbelief and despair.
Stare straight at yourself.
Looking at myself in the mirrors behind me, beside me, and in front of me...
Countless images of Reiko Kido's chests burst open, their makeup eerie, staring intently as he fell, their lips moving as if they wanted to say something, but they never had the chance...
"Why do you want to see him?! Am I really that much worse than him?!"
Asano Eima and his memory of himself roared out at the same time, one in a low, hoarse, and sinister voice, the other in a high-pitched, shrill, and frantic voice.
Matsuo Akira stood frozen in disbelief: "Just for such a ridiculous reason?!"
Koyanagi Rimi also broke down instantly, almost crying out, "She even argued with me! I said you were bad and she still defended you!! Asano Eima, give Reiko back to me!!"
“...I’m clearly her boyfriend, and Matsuo Akira is the one who lost,” Asano Eima was still muttering to himself as he was handcuffed.
"She is my bride..."
Asano Eima was taken away by the police, and he looked dazed before leaving.
As they brushed past each other, Kitagawa Ryusei seemed to suddenly remember something and whispered gently, "Please promise me you'll reform yourself properly, at least learn how to write the word 'slander' while you're in prison, okay?"
*
The plan to visit the park was half ruined, and Ida Wataru's rare date also ended abruptly.
Fortunately, Miss Natalie is beautiful and kind-hearted, and she doesn't mind the class monitor's flustered attempts to make amends.
After leaving the haunted house, Furuya Rei remained silent, barely speaking, and seemed to be in low spirits.
Kitagawa Ryusei walked beside him, not understanding what the problem was, and could only attribute it to the murder that had just occurred.
So he made an excuse to pull the person aside.
"What's wrong?" Kitagawa Ryusei asked, looking up into the other person's eyes from behind the flower bed.
Still pondering his last words, Furuya Rei paused, blinking as he came to his senses: "What?"
He had heard Asano Eimaru's words clearly, and Kitagawa Ryusei hadn't deliberately avoided him.
So... Rei Furuya kept thinking the whole way: Was he angry with me just now?
This was a rare occurrence, as he seldom felt this kind of emotion from Kitagawa Ryusei, let alone from someone who was acting in his own name.
So now, Rei Furuya is not only not unhappy, but even feels a secret joy deep down that makes him despise himself.
And now, Kitagawa Ryusei is even comforting him.
"Are you in a bad mood?" he asked softly.
Almost immediately, Rei Furuya responded without batting an eye, his grey-purple eyes peering through his slightly long bangs as he looked at the person in front of him and nodded in acknowledgment.
As for the reason for his bad mood, he hasn't come up with one yet.
But that didn't stop him from looking at Kitagawa Ryusei expectantly.
The ideas in my mind gradually became more and more imaginative.
Based on what he's learned from him over the past two days, Furuya Rei thinks Kitagawa Ryusei will probably pull out a piece of candy from his pocket to coax him...
A soft, gentle touch landed on my lips, and then suddenly, a breath brushed against my face.
It has the aroma of lemon, rose and a hint of chocolate ice cream.
Rei Furuya was suddenly frozen in place, like a slowly petrifying sculpture.
It wasn't an illusion that they didn't separate immediately upon touching... He could even clearly feel that presence brush against the corner of his lips.
His gaze slowly descended, landing on Kitagawa Ryusei's face and breath so close to his.
But his brain had stopped functioning; it seemed he could do nothing but stand there dumbly.
It was unclear how much time had passed before Kitagawa Ryusei finally parted ways with him, her eyes clear as she looked up.
A smile melted the ice in his eyes; "Is this how you coax your boyfriend?"
Those hands had somehow landed on his shoulders, but Furuya Rei remained in the same position, looking bewildered.
He opened his mouth slightly, but made no sound, which only made the lingering sensation on his lips more noticeable once again.
Her cheeks flushed instantly.
"you……"
Before he could say anything, he was startled by a loud noise behind him and turned around.
The familiar scene, but the group of guys huddled together had changed to four different people.
And there was also Miss Natalie, who covered her mouth with her hand, her smile friendly yet shy.
When they saw them looking over, the four reacted in different ways.
Date Wataru was at a loss for words: "Uh, well..."
Kenji Hagiwara's eyes sparkled: "Keep going! Keep going!"
The sunglasses slipped down his nose, almost touching Matsuda Jinpei's lips: "When...did this happen?"
Meanwhile, Morofushi Kagemitsu seemed to be standing against a black background, radiating an eerie soft light: "Zero, Ryusei, is there something you forgot to tell us?"
"But it's okay, we understand."
Children are reaching the age where they should have their own little secrets...
Looking at their companions, and then turning to look at each other, Rei Furuya and Ruki Kitagawa exchanged a glance, simultaneously understanding the unspoken message between them.
The next moment, he grabbed Kitagawa Ryusei's hand and turned to run!
"Don't run—catch them!"
"An explanation! We demand an explanation!"
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